April ABC challenge: Meringue-topped Coffee Cake

 

This month's challenge is coffee. That takes me back to a little place in Charlottesville, Virginia called Sunshine Bakery. They used to have this coffee-flavored cake that was so good! I've never had anything like it before or since, and 30+ years later, I still crave that cake. For one thing, outside of panaderias, I never see coffee-flavored cake. (And trying to look up recipes for one gets you a lot of plain breakfast cakes with streusel topping.) But it also had the most unique texture -- firmer than normal, with really large air holes for a cake, almost like an English muffin. It would probably be considered inferior by a trained pastry chef, but it was delightful. It also had a whipped coffee (perhaps mocha) frosting, not too sweet. Unfortunately, that bakery is long gone, and with it the elusive recipe. Alas.

For this recipe, I halved the original, which called for an 8" x 8" baking pan. I used a pan slightly smaller than an 8" x 4", so the cake was taller, but was done in the same time.  Here's what I used:

1/3 cup milk, warmed
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/8 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 egg plus 1 yolk, beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 1/16 teaspoon salt

Topping
1 egg white
1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325F; grease and line a 7.25" x 3.5" loaf pan. Dissolve coffee granules in milk; cool. In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in egg. Fold in flour and cinnamon alternately with coffee-flavored milk. Turn out batter into prepared pan.

To make topping, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup of sugar; spread over batter. In a bowl, mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, cinnamon, and coconut; sprinkle over the meringue. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a fine skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and meringue is crisp. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then carefully remove and cool on a wire rack. 

This rose really weirdly -- only on one side. My oven is about 25 degrees hotter from back to front, but it's hard to believe it made that much of a difference across a 4-inch pan! Perhaps it had something to do with how the meringue attached to the pan.  (Was one side greased more than the other?) It also rose a LOT, rising well above the top of the pan, but sunk back down a bit as it cooled. And yet there was no noticeable difference in the crumb from one side to the other. Odd.

This cake was actually was more like a "coffee cake" than a dessert -- mild in flavor and sweetness.  The coffee flavor wasn't detectable, surprisingly -- it tasted more of cinnamon and molasses, even though it contained neither.  The coffee probably added a complexity to the overall flavor. I'd want to at least double the coffee quantity. The meringue was a nice touch, but the coconut topping was unnecessary -- probably more for appearance than anything else. To make this more rich, it could be nicely decadent with a dark chocolate ganache drizzle.

Conclusion:  The cake was very light and fluffy while warm, but firmed up and became more dense and moist the next day. (The recipe directs this to be eaten the same day it's made, probably due to the meringue, but I liked it better the second day and the meringue was fine.) I'd be inclined to leave off the coconut topping mixture entirely and perhaps serve this with a whipped coffee frosting instead of the meringue, particularly in the fall because of its warm spice flavors.

Recipe:  "Meringue-Topped Cake" from A Gourmet's Guide to Coffee & Tea by Leslie Mackley

February ABC challenge: Walnut Honey Cake

This month the challenge is nuts. I have about 4 pounds of walnuts that I forgot I bought last year, and they're starting to turn, so I was looking for a recipe that used a lot of them.  I've had this recipe for a walnut cake in my files for a long time -- I couldn't find a link to the original recipe so I don't know the background for it, but I think this might be a traditional Greek cake called karidopita.  (Although that uses bread crumbs instead of flour, and no polenta.  Alternatively, this could be from Eastern Europe.)

Because of the polenta and the pour-over hot syrup, I was hoping it would be similar to this semolina almond cake, which I liked very much.  It was light and not too sweet -- unexpected, considering all the syrup.  On the other hand, many syrup-soaked desserts are extremely sweet, wet, and sticky, literally dripping with syrup.

Other than an adjustment for the lack of salt in the recipe, I followed it exactly.  Here's what I used:

1¹/₂ cups walnut pieces, plus 2 tablespoons for decorating
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup light muscovado sugar
1/4 cup set honey
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup polenta
1/3 cup milk
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Thoroughly grease and flour a 9-inch round cake tin. (Don't leave even a small bare spot.) Place the walnut pieces on a baking tray and roast for 8 minutes until slightly darker and aromatic. Cool and then roughly chop.  Set aside 2 tablespoons for decorating. Put the softened butter, sugar and honey in a bowl, and beat until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.  Sift both types of flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon over the mixture, adding any bran left in the sieve.  Fold in and when half-mixed add the nuts, polenta and milk. Fold in. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for 50 minutes or until well risen, firm and lightly browned. IMPORTANT:  after 30 minutes of baking, check to see if the top of the cake is turning dark. If it is, cover the cake with kitchen foil and continue baking. When the cake is baked it should be firm. Allow to cool in the pan a few minutes, then turn out onto a plate.

For the syrup:
1/2 cup golden caster sugar
4 tablespoons set honey
1/2 cup water

Put all the ingredients in a pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved. Simmer for 5 minutes.  Spoon the hot syrup evenly over the top of the warm cake and allow to soak in.  Decorate with the reserved walnuts before the syrup sets.  To make them shine, drizzle a little of the syrup over them.

 

The semolina in the almond cake is fine and absorbed the syrup nicely. Polenta is a coarser grind, though, and retains quite a bite, giving this cake a very sandy texture.  The cake was rather firm and dry, and combined with all the walnuts made it crumble when trying to eat it, which was annoying.  The recipe contained no salt at all other than a pinch, which I knew wasn't sufficient for my taste.  To compensate, I used salted butter, which usually works well, and didn't actually add any more, but I think it could still use that extra pinch.

Conclusion:  I'm not overly fond of spice cakes, finding them a little dull, and this one was no different. It had a nice hearty flavor, especially with the walnuts and whole wheat, but I thought it needed something.  A little orange zest or something else that offered some contrast.  Some ice cream or whipped cream is a big improvement as well.

Recipe:  Walnut Syrup Cake via Yummy Coffee and Food

Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake

So not pretty.

Why are these called "mug cakes"?  Or, if they're going to call them that, why do the recipes always direct you to use a "large" mug?  I don't make them very often, but without fail I end up with something that barely wets the bottom of my rather standard-sized mug.  These are really "cup" cakes, as in a tea or coffee cup that maxes out at about 6 ounces and most people don't even own, not the mugs we're used to using for our hot beverages that are at least 12 ounces and more.  (Okay, I just double checked the recipe and she doesn't specify a "large" mug.  Mea culpa.)  I added up the quantity of the ingredients, which came to a little over 1 cup, accounted for some rise and figured my standard mug would work nicely.  But as you can see, it fills the mug only about half way.  It's more than just a disappointment visually -- I think having so much rim above the batter affects the way it bakes.

If you truly want a mug of cake, I recommend doubling this recipe.  But I made it as is, and here's what I used:

2 tablespoons applesauce*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil clarified butter
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon (scant) salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg (optional)

Cream Cheese Icing
1 tablespoon cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk (optional)

Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until smooth; set aside. 

Combine the applesauce, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and brown sugar in a mug and whisk or stir together until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and combine well.  Microwave mixture on high power for 1 minute, then check cake for doneness.  If it is not fully cooked, microwave for an additional 15 seconds.  Serve warm, topped with Cream Cheese Icing.

*I didn't have applesauce, so I peeled and chopped a small apple and microwaved until very soft, then mashed with a fork.  I added a little water to loosen it up, but it still wasn't as wet as commercial applesauce.  

My oil smelled a little off, so I melted clarified butter to use instead.  (Oil makes for a moister standard cake than butter.)  I didn't use the nutmeg because I've never put nutmeg in a cinnamon roll.  I had only two tablespoons of liquid, plus the apple, when I added the flour, and I ended up with a stiff paste.  I made the mistake of adding a little more liquid; I should have waited, because it loosened up considerably after I stirred in the sugar.  I've rearranged the directions so you have all the liquids together before adding the dry ingredients.  (It also makes it easier to mix completely when the liquid is on the bottom.)  And yes, you do need all that cinnamon.  However, unless you want to swirl a fancy design with the icing like the creator did, you might not need the milk in the icing.  (Mine turned out runny.)

Conclusion:  The flavor on this was really good, but the texture was terrible:  thick, heavy, and gummy.  I blame myself for not following the recipe properly and for not baking it long enough.  (The skewer came out clean, but it turned out it was because I had a thick gum that was solidifying.)  I very likely had too much liquid, and I might have fussed with it for too long after the baking powder went in.  (I'm not sure how much of a problem that might have caused.)  One of the best things about mug cakes, though, is that it's so easy to try again.

Recipe:  Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake via Cooking Classy